Having spent most of my formative flying years on PanAm and TWA (I really loved those transcon 747's), I came to UA relatively late. Although I joined the MP program in 1989, I didn't really fly UA much until 1992, and even then I split my business for a few years with USAir (which used to let elites confirm upgrades on booking; when they dropped that, I dropped them). By 1998, I was 1K. I hit 1MM in 2004. Virtually all BIS (except for a number of very short hops (eg LAX-SNA that counted for 500 each). In addition to the benefits recounted above, the FA made me a crown on my qualifying flight.